Sports store robbery

A pair of brothers hid the loot in a PC case

The robbers ordered the murder weapon on the internet.(Bild: LPD Stmk)

Top success for the investigators of the Styrian State Office of Criminal Investigation: the group was able to solve the armed robbery of a sports store in Leibnitz (Styria) within just seven days. The perpetrators: two teenagers (15, 16) from Germany. The brothers had ordered the murder weapon, a machete, on the Internet. They are now in custody.

The two employees in the sports store in Leibnitz will probably have to deal with the consequences of the robbery for some time to come. The two teenagers certainly didn't have this in mind when they ordered a 60-centimeter-long machete on the Internet for just under 30 euros. The pair of brothers were expecting 500 euros in loot when they committed their act of violence. The pair also wanted to steal clothes to sell.

"It's unbelievable the criminal energy they displayed," said one investigator, shaking his head. "Everything was carefully and thoroughly professionally planned." The teenagers had extra clothes with them, which they put on over their clothes before the robbery. They also changed their shoes. 

The murder weapon ended up in a stream
While the 16-year-old threatened the employees with a machete and stole cash, his 15-year-old brother took various hoodies and soccer boots. However, when the two realized during their escape that they had taken far more cash than they thought, they threw the clothes and the murder weapon into a stream. They no longer needed the items.

The employees of the sports store are struggling with the consequences of the robbery. They are undergoing psychological counseling.

Ein Ermittler

But the joy over their loot was short-lived. On March 8, the handcuffs clicked for the older man. A tip from the public and criminal sleuthing - the State Office of Criminal Investigation was actively supported by colleagues from the Leibnitz and Leutschach police stations - were able to convict him quickly. Especially as his supposedly flawless alibi was suddenly no longer so flawless.

"Cool thrill"
After a night in custody, the 16-year-old also revealed his accomplice. Investigators found a large part of the loot in a PC case in the brothers' apartment. The teenagers with Iraqi roots, who came to Styria from Germany a year and a half ago, have confessed. They wanted a "cool thrill" and money. They got the ideas from movies.